Imagine living in the United States as a Black male in the 21st century. Suppose you are with a group of friends and dare you to ask a white woman out on a date. The dare seems simple enough, right? Chances are the white woman responds with a “yes” or “no.” No harm done either way. Now, visualize yourself living in the United States during the 1950s as a young and impressionable Black male. Imagine you are with a group of friends, and they dare you to do something. Out of fear of being recreant, you decide to carry out such a dare. What is the dare? Quite simple, go up to a white woman, and ask her on a date. What is believed to be a straightforward question; can have a life-threatening response. This scenario is based on true events that led to the wrongful and inhumane death of fourteen-year-old Emmett Till.
On July 25th, 1941, Emmett Till was born to his parents, Louis and Mamie Till, who were from Mississippi. The young couple decided to relocate their family to the north during the Great Migration for a more sustainable life.[1] Although life in the north still had its faults, it provided more opportunities to African Americans, such as employment opportunities, education, and security. In the summer of 1955, Till’s mother decided to send him to Mississippi to visit his family. Till, along with a few of his friends and relatives walked into a store in Money, Mississippi. Accounts vary as to what occurred while inside the store, but what is certain is that the store was being managed by a white woman, Carolyn Bryant. According to the statement of Carolyn Bryant, she accused Till of being flirtatious and even referring to her as ‘baby’. [2]
Whether her statement is accurate or not, one thing remains certain: Whites in the South consider it extremely disrespectful and uncalled for a Black man to show any sort of attention, let alone affection for a white woman. To whites, this was an utter and blatant sign of disrespect. Unfortunately, Till was oblivious of the strict rules concerning what a Black person can and cannot do regarding white people. It is important to remember that Till was from the north. The social norms of the south were vastly different from that of the north. Bryant informed her husband, Roy, of her version of events of what happened; filled with violence and anger, he and his friend, Milam, set out for retribution against Till. Later that night, Roy and Milam kidnapped Till from where he was staying.[3] They then viciously tortured and murdered him by shooting him in the head. [4]After doing so, they then dumped his body in a river, which they weighed down with a cotton gin. Three days after Till was mutilated, his body was found by two boys who were going fishing.[5] His body, specifically his face had been so disfigured that it was impossible to identify him. His mother was only able to identify him by a ring that he wore on his finger which was engraved with his father’s initials. If you compare the photo chosen to the one of Emmett Till’s body, it is saddening and heartbreaking. To see how happy and full-of-life he was compared to how he ended up is shocking.
While making arrangements for his funeral, his mother made the brazen decision to have a public open-casket service. [6] As African Americans quickly packed the church where the service was being held, many had to be carried away, as that was how disheartening it was to bear witness to what had occurred to Till. His sight also infuriated African Americans who decided that enough was enough and his killers needed to be held accountable. Later, Roy and Milam were put on trial for the murder of Emmett Till. Mississippi Governor Hugh White said, “He also wired the NAACP in New York that he “had every reason to believe that the courts will do their duty in prosecution”.[7] Governor White turned out to be wrong. Roy and Milam were acquitted of the murder of Emmett Till.[8] Once African Americans realized that all the jurors selected were white, they lost all hope for a fair trial.
Many believe the death of Emmet Till catalyzed the Civil Rights Movement. African Americans wanted to be treated as equals to their white counterparts. When asked about what the death of her son meant to Black people, she replied, “We have got to shake these shackles off, we’ve got to stand up, we’ve got to be men and women. And uh… when the pressure… When people begin to oppress us, we have to resist, we cannot take this sitting down, lying down, running, and crying. It’s time to get up and do. And Emmett’s death was the opening of the Civil Rights Movement. He became not only the impetus for the Civil Rights Movement, but he was a sacrificial lamb of the movement. And uh… when people saw what had happened to my son, they, men stood up who had never stood up before. People became vocal who had never vocalized before. And uh… people decided that they were going to shake the shackles of intimidation, they weren’t going to live this way any longer”.[9] Here, Mamie Till is saying that Till’s death signified a universal call for justice, equality, and liberation. It is quite possible that if it were not for both Emmett and Mamie Till, African Americans would not have taken an immediate call to action.
[1] User, Super. “The Emmett till Murder Trial: An Account.” Famous Trials. Accessed December 2, 2021. https://famous-trials.com/emmetttill/1755-home.
[2] User, Super. “The Emmett till Murder Trial: An Account.” Famous Trials. Accessed December 2, 2021. https://famous-trials.com/emmetttill/1755-home.
[3] Whitaker, Hugh Stephen. “A Case Study in Southern Justice: The Murder and Trial of Emmett Till.” Rhetoric and Public Affairs 8, no. 2 (2005): 189–224. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41939980.
[4] Squires, Catherine R. “Emmett Till.” Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia,2021. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=ers&AN=89408813&site=eds-live.
[5] User, Super. “The Emmett till Murder Trial: An Account.” Famous Trials. Accessed December 2, 2021. https://famous-trials.com/emmetttill/1755-home.
[6] Interview with Mamie Till Mobley, mother of Emmett Till, 3 of 4. Directed by Stanley Nelson. WGBH Educational Foundation, 2017. https://video.alexanderstreet.com/watch/interview-with-mamie-till-mobley-mother-of-emmett-till-3-of-4.
[7] Whitaker, Hugh Stephen. “A Case Study in Southern Justice: The Murder and Trial of Emmett Till.” Rhetoric and Public Affairs 8, no. 2 (2005): 189–224. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41939980.
[8] Whitaker, Hugh Stephen. “A Case Study in Southern Justice: The Murder and Trial of Emmett Till.” Rhetoric and Public Affairs 8, no. 2 (2005): 189–224. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41939980.
[9] Interview with Mamie Till Mobley, mother of Emmett Till, 3 of 4. Directed by Stanley Nelson. WGBH Educational Foundation, 2017. https://video.alexanderstreet.com/watch/interview-with-mamie-till-mobley-mother-of-emmett-till-3-of-4.